Skip the train to Depot

So, tonight we were going to meet up with a friend for dinner and drinks at the newly opened Parish just down the street from where we live. We had take out sandwiches from Parish last Saturday and they were delicious, so we wanted to check out their dinner menu. When we arrived, there was a 45 minute wait. We were hungry, so we decided to punt and check out the relatively new Depot on Memorial Drive on the border between Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown. The restaurant is the product of a restoration of an old railroad depot built in 1900. The owners did an amazing job of restoring the space and it really is unique and inviting.

The positive comments end there. With a few exceptions, the rest of the experience was a huge disappointment. We ordered an appetizer of nachos with chicken, bacon, red peppers and onions and it was unusually bland given a decent mix of ingredients. This appetizer was a case of the whole being less than the sum of the parts. We had mixed luck with the sandwiches we ordered. A shrimp po boy was quite good, but a burger came out raw despite being ordered medium. A salmon sandwich was mediocre at best, and everyone's french fries were older than yesterday's news and as tough as shoe leather.

The service started out friendly and attentive, but half way though our meal our waiter disappeared for 15 minutes. When he came back from his long break, he looked over and saw that we were done eating and proceeded to turn around and wait on three other tables for another 10 minutes. At this point were disappointed enough to not want a second beer and asked for the check to complete our underwhelming experience.

We're looking forward to redeeming our Thursday night dining experience either next week or the following by checking out Parish (we'll make reservations this time). For now, we can just suggest skipping Depot. There are so many other bars with good food in this city that this is one place best admired from your car while speeding down Memorial on your way to a delicious pub meal at Six Feet Under.